Walmart comes to Gentry

GENTRY — Walmart is coming to Gentry.

Earth work is already under way at the site of a scaled-down Walmart store on the west side of Arkansas Highway 59, just north of Spavinaw Stove store.

A Walmart spokesman on Monday confirmed the company will open a store at that location. He declined to release store details.

He did not confirm that work in Gravette is for a Walmart store.

In Gravette, plans for a new retail building, at the site of the old Gravette Hospital (which most recently was an apartment building that is no longer occupied), are pending before the Gravette Planning Commission. A public hearing scheduled for Monday was postponed until next month, according to Gravette Planning Commission chairman Mike von Ree.

The hearing involves only site development of the block-size plot. The hearing does not include construction plans for a structure to house a retail business. The plans on file at City Hall are labeled “New Retail Building.”

“In large cities and small towns across the country, it’s clear that customers want to shop at Walmart,” said Steven Restivo, a media representative for Walmart Corporate Affairs.

“We have become more flexible in terms of store size in an effort to be as close to our customers as possible. This approach helps ensure that the final store size and merchandise mix reflects the community where it is located.

Our Gentry store is an example of this effort.”

At its January meeting the Gentry City Council accepted by ordinance a plat for Spavinaw Square, a new commercial subdivision located just north of the building that houses the Spavinaw Stove store and the Wooden Spoon restaurant. The council approved the ordinance with rules suspended and on three readings with a single vote. The council also approved an emergency clause. The council was told construction would begin on the site within six weeks, but no details regarding the businesses to be located there were revealed at the time.

“We will be able to share more specifics about the construction timeline and features of the store soon,” Restivo said on Monday.

Though no application has yet been received fora building permit, Gentry building inspector David McNair said original discussion on the site in volved plans for a 15,000 square-foot building.

In October, Walmart U.S president and CEO Bill Simon outlined growth plans for coming years - plans that include stores in small towns.

"Over the next few years we will introduce new formats to help us enter new markets. Walmart U.S will move toward a three format portfolio, whichwill drive expansion to urban markets and small towns, as well as fill in gaps in existing markets," Simon explained in a press release. "The large format is our supercenter, which sells a broad assortment of groceries and general merchandise. We have integrated efficiencies into our supercenter design that have allowed us to decrease the average square footage for our supercenter format. The medium format, between 30,000 and 60,000 square feet, will be basedon the needs of an individual market. The small format, which is less than 30,000 square feet, will be targeted to urban markets and small towns.”